'News: Shetland Islands Complain About No DAB Radio Following "Dixons" Publicity Stunt To Stop Selling Analogue Radios' by Grant Goddard
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News story about complaints from the Shetland Islands about its lack of DAB radio coverage following an announcement by UK online retailer 'Dixons' that it will no longer sell analogue radio receivers, written by Grant Goddard in August 2006 for The Radio Magazine.
![News: Shetland Islands Complain About No DAB Radio Following 'Dixons' Publicity Stunt To Stop Selling Analogue
Radios page 2
©2006 Grant Goddard
Anger has erupted in the Shetland Islands, following the announcement by
online electronics retailer 'Dixons' that it will no longer sell analogue radio
receivers, due to the growing popularity of DAB.
Isles MP Alistair Carmichael wrote to culture secretary Tessa Jowell,
demanding that DAB radio broadcasts be extended to the area. His letter said:
"Several constituents have contacted me to ask why it is that local people still
cannot receive digital radio services. Dixons' decision to only sell digital radios
serves to emphasise how important it is that we are not left behind. At the
moment, the government are failing to take responsibility for this. I have raised
it in the House of Commons chamber in the past but successive ministers have
ducked the issue. It is time they made it clear when we can expect to enjoy
DAB digital radio services in the same way as most people in the rest of the
country.”
The Dixons announcement proved to be an effective publicity stunt for the
radio industry, with the company’s press release distributed to the media by
both the Digital Radio Development Bureau [DRDB] and GCap Media plc. The
DRDB admitted that it had “been in conversation with Dixons and other
retailers for some time on this subject”.
Dixons said that digital radio receivers had been outselling analogue radios
since December 2003 and that the sales ratio had now reached 30:1. The
resulting press coverage mostly failed to point out that the Dixons statement
referred only to its online store, as its high street shops were re-branded as
‘Currys Digital’ earlier this year. Although the two brands are co-owned, the
statement avoided stating that the policy not to stock analogue radios will not
be similarly applied to Currys shops or the Currys online store.
Exactly a year ago, Dixons organised a similar publicity stunt when it stopped
selling 35mm cameras.
[First published in 'The Radio Magazine' as 'Shetland Uproar Over DAB', #750, 23 August 2006]
Grant Goddard is a media analyst / radio specialist / radio consultant with thirty years of
experience in the broadcasting industry, having held senior management and consultancy
roles within the commercial media sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Details at
http://www.grantgoddard.co.uk](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
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'News: Shetland Islands Complain About No DAB Radio Following "Dixons" Publicity Stunt To Stop Selling Analogue Radios' by Grant Goddard
- 1. NEWS: SHETLAND ISLANDS COMPLAIN ABOUT NO DAB RADIO FOLLOWING 'DIXONS' PUBLICITY STUNT TO STOP SELLING ANALOGUE RADIOS by GRANT GODDARD www.grantgoddard.co.uk August 2006
- 2. News: Shetland Islands Complain About No DAB Radio Following 'Dixons' Publicity Stunt To Stop Selling Analogue Radios page 2 ©2006 Grant Goddard Anger has erupted in the Shetland Islands, following the announcement by online electronics retailer 'Dixons' that it will no longer sell analogue radio receivers, due to the growing popularity of DAB. Isles MP Alistair Carmichael wrote to culture secretary Tessa Jowell, demanding that DAB radio broadcasts be extended to the area. His letter said: "Several constituents have contacted me to ask why it is that local people still cannot receive digital radio services. Dixons' decision to only sell digital radios serves to emphasise how important it is that we are not left behind. At the moment, the government are failing to take responsibility for this. I have raised it in the House of Commons chamber in the past but successive ministers have ducked the issue. It is time they made it clear when we can expect to enjoy DAB digital radio services in the same way as most people in the rest of the country.” The Dixons announcement proved to be an effective publicity stunt for the radio industry, with the company’s press release distributed to the media by both the Digital Radio Development Bureau [DRDB] and GCap Media plc. The DRDB admitted that it had “been in conversation with Dixons and other retailers for some time on this subject”. Dixons said that digital radio receivers had been outselling analogue radios since December 2003 and that the sales ratio had now reached 30:1. The resulting press coverage mostly failed to point out that the Dixons statement referred only to its online store, as its high street shops were re-branded as ‘Currys Digital’ earlier this year. Although the two brands are co-owned, the statement avoided stating that the policy not to stock analogue radios will not be similarly applied to Currys shops or the Currys online store. Exactly a year ago, Dixons organised a similar publicity stunt when it stopped selling 35mm cameras. [First published in 'The Radio Magazine' as 'Shetland Uproar Over DAB', #750, 23 August 2006] Grant Goddard is a media analyst / radio specialist / radio consultant with thirty years of experience in the broadcasting industry, having held senior management and consultancy roles within the commercial media sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Details at http://www.grantgoddard.co.uk